Post-Baccalaureate Program

Sculpture

The Sculpture independent study is focused on the study of sculpture composition, and is intended for students with a previous background in studio art. In the course, students work with compositional concepts from ancient sculptures to contemporary artworks. Long-term and short-term projects will be assigned and reviewed in a critique at the end of each assignment. The first portion of the course involves short-term assignments, with the student choosing one of these assignments to expand upon for a final project. With a small student-to-faculty ratio, this course is designed to be adapted to the directions that each individual student wishes to pursue, based on their previous background and interest.

Course Objectives: This course is designed to encourage students to deepen their understanding of the technical and conceptual aspects of sculptural composition. On the conceptual side, students are challenged to develop and realize their own compositional ideas, to conceive of sculptural projects that they find compelling and to articulate through critiques and written statements the ideas and motivations behind their work.

On the technical side, students will be expected to address fundamental concepts of sculptural design within their projects Topics addressed will include form, space, line, texture, light, scale, material, space, presentation, color, rhythm, balance, proportion, repetition, variety, unity, weight, emphasis, economy, juxtaposition, relation to surrounding space/location, use of materials/found objects. Primary materials used will be plaster, cardboard, burlap, wire, styrofoam, clay (both fired and unfired), and wood as well as found materials. Please note that the school does not have shop equipment for welding or forging metal, and our woodworking tools are limited. For students interested in metalsmithing, the school can put them in contact with Anna Benedetto, a local artist working in forged and welded metal with close ties to our school.

The primary objective within this course is creative exploration and compositional problem solving. Toward this objective, students are required to work independently to form work habits necessary for productive studio practice and a distinctive artistic process. Students will be expected to sharpen their ability to critically assess works of art, and demonstrate that capacity during slide presentations and group critiques.

This class pushes students to work towards the finalization of ambitious projects. It is of utmost importance for students to develop a substantive and thoughtful body of work over the course of the semester, as students' cumulative portfolios will be the most important accomplishment to take home with them from their time in Siena. At the same time, this course embraces experimentation and “thinking outside the box” regarding sculptural approaches.

-Students must be accountable for their own studio practice, and are expected to work for several hours a week in the studio for this course (this includes meetings with advisors).

-Students must keep an art journal/sketchbook specifically dedicated to their sculptural projects, with dates included for each entry. Sketchbooks will be graded on legibility, creative exploration and articulation of ideas, both visually and verbally.

-Students are required to make regular online posts of their artistic studies, their experiences of art and sculpture in Italy, and their studio practice. Online posts can be done via Dropbox accounts, blogs, or a similar online platform. As with the sketchbook requirement, online posts will be graded on creative exploration and articulation of ideas, both visually and verbally.

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